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RT Cornelius Lucas a quick study as late TE sub

Six-feet-nine with soft hands.

It almost seems unfair for one player to possess both physical gifts, but Cornelius Lucas does.

"The hands are excellent," Lucas said Thursday while discussing how he handled being pressed into emergency tight-end duty Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

With Eric Wright active as the Detroit Lions' only healthy tight end after Brandon Pettigrew was a late scratch with a kneecap injury, Lucas, normally a right tackle, had to go through a lightning round of tight-end prep.

"We had one tight end," offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said, "and so we were kind of coaching up Lucas the hour before the game like, 'Hey, in this formation, you do this, you go here.